A few tips, a lot does depend on your playing style/gbs though
Ensure you've opened all mines. I found the best way to really start collecting when hitting a new era with the various mines is to just pay the 50 dia scouting fee and clear them all. GE, GBG and the quests from the new era more than covers this dia cost provided you have a high CF (for the era quests). It's no more attacks than hitting gbg for an hour or so, the maps arent that big. Even some of the map sectors give you dia towards it. The largest mines are always near the end of the era map where you get 100+ special goods daily.
Do not use Ice to make any era goods on the colony, you should just use whatever buildings you produce in your city. Again you can get additional goods from CF quests, various gbs depending on your set up (Flying island can give your era goods in settlements upto 300 on one shard. Tor relic rewards in GE, 50 good rewards fighting in Gbg) even events buildings if you keep them upgraded to your current era.
Build a space carrier and you have a chance to gain Ice each day from the gb.
I've never had to build synthesizers at any point in the game (nearly at the end of SAJM techs now) it's best not to rush through the last eras and collect a bit of stock of each before moving onto the next, at some point you'll catch upto eras though and then essentially you have 12 months to collect whatever era you're in special goods, collect up a stock and it gets a lot easier.
If you try to follow the way the game is laid out with the colonies, using Ice to build goods on the colony, providing oxygen to balance the costs etc you'll be there a lifetime.
It's upto you how you play though so every player will probably have different tips as there's no right/wrong way, just different paths. Everyone's way is the right way.
